


A Soft Epilogue

by KaytiKazoo



Series: Years Go By [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Adopted Children, Adoption, Blow Jobs, Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, M/M, Married Life, Name Changes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:34:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26097196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaytiKazoo/pseuds/KaytiKazoo
Summary: Fitz and Hunter, following their years in the past, are now building a future together, with jobs, dogs, a house, and two beautiful daughters.
Relationships: Leo Fitz/Lance Hunter
Series: Years Go By [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1884214
Comments: 8
Kudos: 15





	A Soft Epilogue

_ I think we deserve _

_ a soft epilogue, my love. _

_ We are good people _

_ and we’ve suffered enough. _

-Seventy Years of Sleep # 4.  nikka ursula

Hunter fell asleep to the quiet sound of wind in the trees, and Fitz’s sleepy breaths, and the whir of the fan overhead. That’s how it was every night. He fell asleep beside his husband, in their home, safe and happy. 

Nearly every morning, he woke up to a small knee in his ribs as their daughter, Ainsley climbed into bed with them just after six in the morning and flopped into the space between them.

“Daddy,” she whined that morning, poking at Hunter’s cheek and neck as persistently as she could. “It’s time for  _ pancakes.” _

“Pancakes are only available after the sun is up,” he told her with a yawn, turning onto his back and letting her fall onto his chest. Her bouncy brown curls were wild from sleep and she was grinning happily. She was turning five soon, and Hunter couldn’t believe that much time had passed already. 

“But I’m hungry,” she said, moving so her elbows were propped on Hunter’s chest, holding her head up to look at him. “Daddy, please.”

She intentionally stuck her lower lip out and made her big brown eyes wide so she was pouting at him.

“Alright, alright, pancakes,” he agreed. He sat up and she fell into his lap with a giggle. He looked over, and chuckled as Fitz was still asleep despite their daughter climbing all over them. “Let’s let Papa sleep, and we’ll get everyone up once breakfast is done.”

He climbed out of bed, lifting her up onto his hip as he left their bedroom and headed for the kitchen downstairs. She told her all about her dream on the way down, how she was in a field of wildflowers and Cal was huge and she was trying to find him and Papa. 

“That sounds so exciting, nugget,” Hunter said, setting her down on the counter and taking out his cookbook from the shelf. 

“It was kind of scary,” she said, pushing a curl out of her face. “But I found you, and Papa, and  Gert , and you told me I was okay, and then we had tea and scones!”

“Oh, tea and scones,” he said. “That sounds good.”

“Yeah!” she agreed. He flipped the book open to Ida’s pancake recipe, and looked it over even if he had memorized it by now. Pancakes were Ainsley’s favorite breakfast, and he had made them every Saturday for nearly five years. They’d brought Ainsley into their home when she was just a few months old, and the last four years had been so good. “Can you tell me about Aunt Ida?”

Every Saturday, while Hunter made pancakes, she asked for a story. Sometimes, it was about how Daddy and Papa met. Sometimes, she asked about the people in their photos, about the aunts and uncles she’d only met a handful of times. Sometimes, she asked about his adventures before he’d met Papa, when he’d explored the world with Auntie Bobbi . Her favorite, though, was about the farm, about their family there, and specifically about Aunt Ida. It may have been because Hunter always talked about her with an air of love and wonder. Ainsley would never meet Ida, but at least Ida would live on in her heart.

“Well, she was very kind,” Hunter started, “she gave home to two scraggly, strange boys when the rest of the world would have turned away.”

He told her everything from the beginning, about Ida’s home and the garden and Papa fixing up the tractor and the family they made there. He mixed the ingredients together, talking while he worked, and heated up a griddle pan across two of the burners on the stove. 

As much as he missed Ida and the farm, he did love the technology that came with being at home. He loved his cell phone so much, being able to reach Fitz, and their friends, whenever he wanted with just a text was so good. Despite being far away from the team, they were still a part of a lively group chat, and had a semi-regular  virtual reality video chat inside Fitz's redesign of the Framework with as many people as possible. 

“Daddy,” Ainsley said, as he finished telling her about the Fall Festival. 

“Yes, nugget?”

“Can I meet Aunt Ida?”

“Oh,” Hunter said. “Uh, no, sweetie. This was a long time ago, and so far away.”

“But Aunt Daisy lives far away,” she argued, “and I still get to see her sometimes.”

“That’s true, but this isn’t the same. This was long, long before you were born. You remember how we told you that Papa builds machines that can do impossible things sometimes? Well, one of the things he built was a time machine, like an engine that drives a car, and it took us to the past on accident. Aunt Ida, she’s not with us anymore.”

Ainsley frowned, but nodded. There were people in their stories that Ainsley would ask about, and they’d had to explain death to her early on when she’d asked about Hunter’s mum and why she wasn’t around like Fitz’s mum. They’d lost a lot of good people over their lives, and their stories were filled with them. 

Hunter poured the batter onto the griddle and watched as Ainsley scooted closer. She loved watching the bubbles in the batter.

“Do you want to help me flip them?” he asked. She nodded excitedly. “Go grab your step stool.”

He helped her down off the counter and watched as she ran for the cupboard where they kept her step stool so she could help them with dinner sometimes. She dragged it over as he grabbed the spatula from the bucket next to the stove, and she stepped up next to him. He handed her the spatula and stepped behind her to keep an eye on everything to make sure she didn’t burn herself. She’d been asking to help him for a while, though, so she knew to keep her arms up away from the pan and use both hands on the spatula. 

“Good job,” he said on the first pancake successfully flipped. She tipped her head back and grinned at him. He understood that her parents gave her up to give her the best life, because they weren’t financially stable enough, and her mother was a teenager at the time, but he couldn’t understand at the same time how anyone could give up such a sunshine spot. Ainsley was bright, and kind, and curious. She asked so many questions, and didn’t settle until she understood the answer. She sought out stories, and then wove her own. She was constantly in motion, creating and building and spinning until she was dizzy. He’d never loved anything more than he loved Ainsley Fitz-Hunter. 

When breakfast was done, Hunter helped Ainsley off her stool.

“Can you go get  Gert and Papa up?”

Ainsley thought for a moment and replied, “I can get Papa, but  Gert is mean in the morning.”

Hunter laughed.

“I’ll get  Gert , then. You go wake up Papa.”

Hunter watched as Ainsley took off towards the stairs, staying a moment to turn off the stove and start up a pot of coffee. He headed for Gertrude’s bedroom on the first floor, tapping on the door before peeking inside. It was dark, and the quiet sound of her noise maker was still going. He opened the door and stepped lightly over to her bed in the corner, turning off the noise maker on her bedside table. Her dusty blonde hair was all he could see sticking out from under her comforter, except for the tip of her nose. 

He poked it gently and said, “pancakes.”

She grumbled and swatted at him.

He poked her again, squishing the end of her nose for a moment and repeating, “pancakes.”

“No,” she whined.

“Come on,  Gert , it’s pancake time.”

“I don’t want pancakes, I want to sleep.”

“What if I let you have some of my coffee?”

She lifted her head so he could see her eyes, the green of them dark in this lighting.

“Papa said I can’t have any coffee.”

“Yes, well, I’m also an adult in this house, and I say you can have a little bit. If you get up and have some pancakes with us.”

“Fine,” she said. “Five minutes.”

He kissed her forehead and said, “five minutes.”

When he came back to the kitchen, Fitz was sitting at the island with a lap full of Ainsley who was telling him animatedly about her dream as well. Hunter stopped at his side and kissed his cheek.

“Good morning, love,” he said softly. 

“Good morning. I heard there are pancakes,” Fitz replied. “And I smell coffee.”

“There is both. Ainsley, can you set the table for me?”

“Yeah!”

Fitz helped her off the chair and she headed for the cabinet where they kept the plates and silverware, within Ainsley’s reach after she had to get help getting the plates. Hunter piled the pancakes on a platter and brought those over to the table. Fitz stumbled over to the coffee maker and poured himself a cup. He’d given up any pretense of not drinking coffee when Ainsley was a baby and not sleeping through the night, even if Hunter missed the sleepy way Fitz would take his cup and drink from it.  Gert came out a couple minutes later and followed Fitz to the coffee pot.

“What are you doing?” Fitz asked, watching as she poured herself a cup.

“I told her she could,” Hunter input before  Gert could throw him under the bus anyway.

“Why?” Fitz asked.

“Because I’m not above bribery as a parenting technique,” Hunter said. “Besides, it’s just a little cup. It won’t stunt her growth or whatever.”

They’d been open to adopting or fostering any age child, and Ainsley fell into their lap first. A couple years later, they were contacted about Gertrude, a sour twelve-year-old who had been given up by yet another set of foster parents. Fitz and Hunter were probably on the bottom of their list, considering how many homes she’d been in since they’d qualified as foster parents, but finally, they gave them a call to see if they were interested. They were warned that she was an angry, sour problem child who wouldn’t be easy to get along with, except that Fitz and Hunter had seen enough in their lifetime to understand trauma and that healing was quick or linear. She’d settled into their home slowly, but they were determined to give her space and their love and their time. When she’d opened up, she was a funny, bright girl with a lot of passion.

They were still progress of fully adopting her, but the process was slower considering  Gert’s parents had never actually signed away their rights the same way Ainsley’s had. The day would come and they’d have absolute proof to say that she was theirs. 

“Yeah, what Dad said,”  Gert added, sipping her coffee while staring directly at Fitz. 

“You’re a softie, Lance Hunter,” Fitz said, not taking her challenge.

“Always have been, love.”

“ Gert , come sit, it’s pancakes time,” Ainsley said, patting the space across from her at the table where  Gert normally sat.  Gert , who liked to pretend she was ice cold and didn’t care about Ainsley, came to the table and sat down across from her sister. Ainsley beamed at her and then pat Hunter’s seat next, the only one left empty. He sat down with his cup of coffee and smiled at her.

“Okay, pancakes,” Hunter said. He grabbed Ainsley’s plate which triggered everyone else to start grabbing breakfast from the table. He set two of the smaller pancakes in the center of her plate, carefully buttered them, then poured the syrup over each one. “Here you go, nugget. All ready.”

He set to making his own plate while the girls tucked into their meals, but Fitz waited for Hunter to have his plate set first before he started. He’d started it when Ainsley had started eating solid food because he’d be done before Hunter had even started, and  eating alone had never been a big deal to Hunter, but Hunter appreciated the way Fitz thought of him. Ten years together and Hunter loved him as much as ever. 

“So, what’s the plan for the day?” Hunter asked.

“Can we go swimming? I want to try my new  floaties .”

“It’s supposed to rain,”  Gert said gently. “But we can go until the rain starts, right?”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Hunter agreed. “We could all use some time out in the sun, I think.”

He playfully nudged Fitz’s leg with his foot, and then because he could, traced Fitz’s leg slowly with his foot, softly so it was a whisper against his skin. Fitz made a face at him, less than amused, but he didn’t shove Hunter away.

“I  – hold on,” Fitz started when his phone started to ring. He answered it with a frown, “hello.”

“Is it work?” Ainsley asked, voice sheepish. Fitz nodded at her as he listened.

“It’s Saturday, Lin. Can we maybe handle this on Monday?” Fitz replied. “How broken can it be?”

“I think it might just be us today, darlings,” Hunter said.

“Why was Clancy even near the power coupling? He’s not  _ cleared _ for mechanical work.”

“Sounds serious,”  Gert said. 

“No, no, it’s fine,” Fitz sighed, rubbing his hand over his face and then pulling it away when he realized he’d smeared sticky syrup over his skin. “Yeah, I’ll be in as soon as I can. I don’t want your thanks, Lin, just make sure those who aren’t cleared for mechanical work aren’t doing the mechanical work so I can enjoy weekends with my family.”

Fitz frowned and hung up the phone.

“Sorry, guys,  looks  like it’s just  going to be you today. Hopefully it’ll be nice tomorrow so we can do something then, too.”

He looked so sad, setting his phone down  on the table in front of him. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Hunter said, putting  his hand on Fitz's soothingly. “You’ll get it done and come home to us.”

“Gross,”  Gert said.

“It’s cute,” Ainsley defended. 

“Don’t worry, we won’t do anything super fun without you,” Hunter continued,  “Just some sunbathing.”

“Okay,”  Fitz said. “Hopefully it’s not as broken as Lin suspects it is.”

“When has that ever been the case?”

Fitz stood up and took his plate to the sink. 

“Sooner I go,” he said, and Hunter nodded. He stopped back by the table and kissed each one of them on the head. “Be back as soon as I can.”

* * *

They’d bought a house on a lake just as they’d once dreamed about, a few weeks after their second wedding, which everyone attended, with a big backyard and enough room for Hunter’s personal greenhouse. After they’d moved in, even before they’d adopted Ainsley, they’d put up a swing set, and double checked the dock’s sturdiness, and made sure Cal liked the place. It was home.

The lake was small, you could see the other side of it from the edge of the dock, but it didn’t have a public beach, so it was quiet most days. Some days, there’d be jet skis, or people in kayaks paddling around. They had a small boat themselves, but it was rarely used, unless they had company over. Instead, they kept to their waters, their dock. 

Gert laid out on the dock in her swimsuit on a towel, her dusty blonde hair spread out around her like fan, while Ainsley and Hunter eased into the chilled water. Even in the depths of summer, the lake water was always a bit chilly. Hunter preferred it, but  Gert refused unless the sun was broiling overhead. Ainsley didn’t mind, drawn to the water like a fish. It was impossible to get her out, and once she could properly swim by herself, Hunter suspected it was going to be a nightmare, but until then, she stuck close in her  floaties , treading water. Cal laid out on the dock, deciding she was too old to go chasing children into the shallows today. Their other dog, however, bowled into the water after them with a big splash, a wave of water whooshing out from underneath him on both sides. 

“Oh,  _ Cap _ ,” Ainsley cried, faking upset with him. 

Cap, short for Captain America to match the Cavalry, was a rescue, a brindle Mastiff mix that had been found tied to a dumpster when he was about a year old. He was scrawny, and skittish, but extremely lovable, and affection starved. They had been searching for a new dog for their home since they had space, and Hunter had the time to train a new dog, and they’d hoped that it would help Ainsley or  Gert . It had done wonders for their family.  Gert fell in love the second they saw him, this wary, lanky baby of a dog with big sad eyes and an aching for love. She’d knelt before him and he’d come right up to her without hesitation. 

“Looks like we found him,” Fitz had said to Hunter, Ainsley holding his hand.  Gert buried her face in Cap’s neck, and it was decided.

His name was Brutus in the shelter, but that didn’t seem right to them, and it had been  Gert to come up with Cap. 

“Well, Cal is named after Aunt May, who is a superhero, basically. He can be named after Captain America, a superhero. Keep with the theme.”

“I like it,” Hunter had said. “Seems equal to me.”

“We’re going to have to name the next one Quake if we want Daisy to stay on our good sides,” Fitz had added. 

“Daisy’s more of a cat than a dog, though.”

“I think you could say that about May, too,” Fitz had replied. 

Cap paddled happily through the water, just as much as a fish as Ainsley. He slept, most of the time, in  Gert’s room, and they’d all pretty much seen him as  Gert’s , but when Ainsley got in the water, he was entirely Ainsley’s dog in that moment. He kept her safe, making sure she didn’t go too far, making sure she stayed above water. Hunter could never quite relax all the way, but he knew Ainsley had at least Cap in her corner if anything happened. 

Well, Hunter looked around, and smiled.

Ainsley never had to feel unloved, with him and Fitz, Cal and Cap, and  Gert there for her. He hoped  Gert felt the same. If not, he was working on it. The adoption going through would be a big step towards that, but with or without that piece of paper, he wanted her to know he was always on her side, always standing behind her to catch her. 

He waded over to the side of the dock while Ainsley and Cap played in the shallows, and he hung off the side near  Gert .

“Getting in today, dumpling?”

“Probably not,” she replied honestly, peeking at him with her hand shading her eyes. “It’s not hot enough for that.”

He laughed and shrugged.

“Alright, well, we’ll be over here if you change your mind.”

He pushed off the dock and swam back to Ainsley and Cap. 

“Okay, nugget, are you ready to try a little deeper today?”

“Without Papa?”

“We can wait until Papa gets home, if you want,” Hunter replied. She thought about it, making the same face Fitz made whenever he contemplated something, and then shook her head.

“I’ll just show Papa what I learned later. He’ll be so proud!”

“He will,” Hunter agreed. 

Hunter slowly walked deeper into the lake, the soft silt squishing under his feet, keeping himself close enough to Ainsley.  Gert had sat up as well, shifting to the edge of the dock, always acting as a lifeguard during Ainsley’s lessons. He watched her carefully while she paddled deeper, grinning the entire time. A fish, indeed.

* * *

The sun hid behind thick, heavy clouds, and Ainsley, swimming confidently back and forth between Hunter and  Gert on the dock, looked up with a frown. 

“Is it time to get out?” she asked sadly.

“I think so,  nug ,” Hunter replied. 

“Hey Pop,”  Gert called as Fitz stepped onto the dock. 

“Hey  Gert ,” he said, coming to sit next to her. His clothes were rumpled, his hair a mess, and there was engine grease smeared across his jaw. “What did I miss?”

“ Ains is getting better,”  Gert answered, nodding towards Ainsley who was swimming circles around Hunter in the deep part of the lake. 

“Papa!” Ainsley called, and swam easily towards Fitz.

“Look at how good you’re getting,” Fitz cooed. She swam up to the dock, and grinned at him.

“Look at how fast I was.”

“So fast! You’re like Aunt Yo-Yo!”

“Yeah! We should show Aunt Yo-Yo how fast I am!”

“Yeah,” Fitz agreed, taking out his phone and starting to record Ainsley swimming back and forth between Fitz and Hunter until the raindrops started. “Alright, time to go inside. We’ll send this when we get back to the house.”

“Okay,” Ainsley sighed, and swam to the edge of the lake. Cap followed, and shook as he got out of the water, making Ainsley giggle. 

“Come here,  Ains ,”  Gert said, taking her towel from the dock and wrapping Ainsley up in it to dry her off. Hunter pulled himself up onto the dock next to Fitz, undoubtedly getting water all over him. Except Fitz leaned into him anyway.

“Hey baby,” Hunter said happily. “Not too difficult a fix, it looks like.”

“No,” Fitz agreed, pulling Hunter into a kiss. The girls had started towards the house, Ainsley proudly asking  Gert if she’d been watching, and  Gert praising her for how fast of a swimmer she was, telling her about all the fish that she was as fast as. The dogs followed, but Hunter and Fitz stayed on the dock for a moment longer. “Sorry I couldn’t be here, though. I hate getting pulled into work on a Saturday.”

“I know,” Hunter said, smoothing his thumb over Fitz’s jaw, rubbing the grease away. “It’ll happen sometimes, but we’ve got so many Saturdays, and so much time together. We’ve got the rest of our lives, right?”

“Ainsley won’t be this little forever,” Fitz said, resting his head on Hunter’s shoulder. “I don’t want to miss too much. I don’t want her memories of me to be that I was always at work.”

“You’re here right now. And sometimes, you’ll have to run off to work on a weekend, or I’ll have to stay late at the greenhouse, but it’s not every day. You’re not gone from us for too long. You’re here with us, and that’s what matters, that you come home to us.”

Fitz bumped his nose against Hunter’s, and stood up.

“Come on, let’s go inside before it starts to pour.”

Hunter followed him up the yard and into their home. The girls were nowhere to be found, except for the sound of giggling from  Gert’s room, probably as they changed back into dry clothes. 

“This is so nice,” Hunter said softly.

Sometimes, he’d buzz through the day, forgetting what his life had been like before. This was all common now, after a decade at Fitz’s side, nearly five as parents. But sometimes, he took a moment to take it all in, breath in the comfort, remember what it had been like, fighting for their lives, on the run, scared and alone, and appreciate that this existed. 

“It is,” Fitz agreed. 

Ainsley came bolting out of  Gert’s room in her clothes, hair put up in a towel, grinning.

“Okay, I’m ready! Let’s send the video to Aunt Yo-Yo! And Aunt Daisy! And Aunt Jemma and Bobbi!”

* * *

Hunter hadn’t been kidding when he’d told Fitz once that he had enough money saved away to buy them whatever house wherever they wanted. It also meant that they had enough money to create a life for themselves wherever they wanted without having to worry about jobs right away. So, they’d bought their home, and then, they’d also bought a commercial greenhouse in town. Fitz found a tech company nearby that needed a lead engineer, and Hunter went to work at his own greenhouse where he grew and sold plants to the locals, a sweet little plant nursery that he adored, which he had named Hunter Greenery. Fitz had scoffed and rolled his eyes fondly at Hunter but hadn’t vetoed it. 

When Ainsley was a baby, Hunter would take her to work with him, put her in a baby carrier on his back, and carry her around the greenhouse. He told her all about the plants he was growing, and how he was taking care of them. When she could walk, she had to go to daycare most days because she had a tendency to dig into the plants mercilessly. Now, she had no interest.

It was  Gert , though, who had a particular fondness for working at the nursery with him. Every so often, Hunter would wake  Gert up early and take her down to their shop so she could take care of the plants, and be soft without having to explain herself. They didn’t talk about it, but she’d bump his shoulder on the way out at the end of the day, and smile at him.

The next morning, on a sleepy Sunday morning, Hunter kissed Fitz before he left, gathered  Gert up in the car with him, and they drove to the greenhouse,  Gert taking sips of coffee from a travel tumbler with the SHIELD logo on it, of all things. It had been part of a gift from Mack a few years back.

“You may be retired, but you’ll always be a part of the team,” he’d assured them. 

“Hey,” Hunter said as they pulled into the greenhouse parking lot. He had limited hours on Sundays, from seven to noon, so they could spend most of Sunday together, which he always worked personally himself to give his small staff the weekend. “You’ve been quiet recently.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. 

“Want to talk about it?”

“No,” she said. “Maybe.”

“Okay,” he said with a small laugh. He parked and they climbed out, heading for the back entrance. He unlocked the door and let them inside,  Gert following him to the staff room. She set her coffee and bag down on his desk, and stood there for a moment. “Can you unlock the front door for me, dumpling?”

She nodded, and headed out. He watched her. Something was bothering her; he could see it in the way she carried herself. She wasn’t the most confident of teenagers, but she faked it as best she could most days, tipping her chin up and holding her shoulders back. When she’d first come home to them, she’d been sullen and withdrawn, and the kids at her school had been cruel and mean once they’d found out she was in foster care. Hunter had never wanted to beat a child before, but the way she looked when she stepped off the bus that day had been enough to run a chill down his spine. 

He took the cash box out of the safe, and carried it out to the register, and started up the credit card system. 

“When you adopt me,”  Gert said, leaning into the counter once the doors were unlocked and the sign had been flipped to open, “can I change my name?”

“Sure, of course,” he said. “I imagine you’d take our last name anyway.”

“I meant,  _ Gertrude _ ,” she said with a scrunched-up face.

“You don’t like it?”

“No! It’s – I’m not an eighty-year-old woman, you know? You can’t even shorten it to something cute. Like,  _ Gert _ sounds like a genital wart or something.”

Hunter couldn’t help the laugh that came out of him. 

“There’s Trudy,” he offered.

“That’s not any better.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “I mean, you absolutely can change your name whenever you want. Your aunt Daisy, she was in foster care, as you know, and chose to go by Skye.”

“She did? Over Daisy?”

“No, actually, from what I remember, Pop told me that her name was Mary Sue  Poots before.”

“Oh! That’s awful!”

“So, she chose to be Skye until she found her parents and gave her  her birth name.”

“I could choose to be anything, then.”

“Of course,” he replied. 

She hummed, and nodded.

“I’ll have to think about it,” she said. “I’m going to water the baby plants.”

“Okay, I’ll be here.”

He went about his day, listening to  Gert sing under her breath in the back room where they took care of the seedlings and, what  Gert called, baby plants. That was the nursery part of the plant nursery, which was her favorite part of the business. 

“Oh, Hunter,” one of his  usuals , a sweet old lady named Beatrice, came up to him just before closing. “Do you have any succulents in the back? My granddaughter is heading off to college and I want to send her with a piece of home.”

“I think so, I think I have a few left. Let me go check.”

In the back,  Gert was sitting next to a newly planted hibiscus tree, talking to it while she trimmed it carefully. 

“Hey dumpling, you see any succulents back here on your rounds?”

“Over by the baby rose bushes.”

“You’re wonderful. You should get a raise.”

“I’ll discuss that with the boss,” she said. “Hey boss?”

“Yes, worker?”

“Can I have a raise?”

“Mmmm, no,” Hunter said. 

“Damn,” she said with a smile and a shrug. “Thought I’d give it a shot.”

“Your Pop, though,” he said, “much softer than me.”

He went over and grabbed the tray of succulents.

“Hey Dad?”

“Yeah?”

“What was your mum’s name?”

“Alice,” he said.

She looked at him for a moment.

“Isn’t that Nan’s name?”

“Her name is  Aileas , which is the Scottish Alice, yeah. Her first name is Elspeth, but she’s always gone by  Aileas .” 

“Hmmm,” she said, but didn’t elaborate.

* * *

That night,  Gert waited until after dinner to ask them for a family meeting. 

“I was talking to Dad today, and I talked to Aunt Daisy, and I’ve decided I don’t want to go by Gertrude anymore. I’m not  Gert . I’ve never felt like a  Gert , but like a placeholder until I could find a place to belong. I thought I had to wait until I was adopted, but that’s not true. I already belong here. This is my family. So, if you don’t mind, I’d like to go by Alice.”

Hunter grinned.

“I’ll keep Gertrude as my middle name, because it is a part of me, even if I don’t  _ like _ it, but I would like to be called Alice from now on.”

“Okay,” Fitz said. “Alice it is.”

“She can do that?” Ainsley asked.

“Yeah,” Hunter replied. “You could, too, if you felt like Ainsley wasn’t right for you.”

Ainsley seemed to think about it for a moment and shook her head.

“Ainsley is good.”

“Okay. So,  _ Alice _ is going to be called Alice from now on, okay? Can you do that?”

“Yeah! Alice!” Ainsley said brightly. Alice smiled at her, tears in her eyes.

“Thanks, guys,” she said, brushing a piece of her hair behind her ear. “I know I can be a pain, but I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me. All of you.”

She gave Ainsley a special look, and Ainsley launched herself into Alice’s lap. They hugged, and Fitz nudged Hunter sweetly.

“We did good.”

“We sure did.”

* * *

With two girls in the house, it wasn’t often Fitz and Hunter got an entire night to themselves. Fitz’s mum was up in Scotland, and while they took weekend trips to see her with the girls every couple months or so, it wasn’t easy to drop them off with her for date night. Luckily, Alice’s best friend had a birthday sleepover the same weekend Ainsley’s best friend had invited her to go camping with her family.

Hunter stood in the middle of the quiet living room, waiting to hear  _ something _ , but nothing came except the wind, and the crickets, and the  windchime on the back deck.

“Hey mister,” Fitz said, sliding up behind him, arms wrapping around his waist.

“Well, hello,” Hunter replied, tipping his head to the side to give Fitz space to kiss along his neck. “Weird being without them.”

“It is,” Fitz agreed, “but I can think of somethings we can do to distract ourselves.”

“Me too.”

Fitz slipped his hand down and started unbuttoning Hunter’s jeans. Hunter pushed his hips back, pressing into Fitz’s cock, halfway to hard already. They could sneak quick, quiet fucks in late at night, especially now that Ainsley didn’t wake up in the middle of the night because she thought she heard a monster in her closet. Hunter had never been so grateful for his daughter to grow out a phase than he was for that one. They could get away with  handjobs and blowjobs in the shower, but it wasn’t often they could take it slow, Fitz teasing him and stroking him.

He loved parenthood, watching his daughters grow every day, but he missed the cabin for the simplicity of getting to fuck whenever and wherever they wanted. 

“Don’t stop,” he whispered as Fitz’s hand pushed into the waistband of his jeans and palmed the line of his cock slowly. “Oh, fuck, Leo.”

He dropped his head back and let his weight lean into his husband.

“You’re such a good boy for me,” Fitz said gently, “always such a good boy.”

Fitz stroked up and down, the fabric of Hunter’s boxers keeping them apart.

“Fitz,” he breathed out. “Please.”

“Please what? What do you want?”

“I want you to touch my dick.”

Fitz kissed the curve of his neck and moved his hand out of his pants entirely, and Hunter whined. 

“Come on,” he said, and he caught Hunter’s hand, dragging him through the living room and into their room. There were a few candles lit around the room, on the dresser and along the window sill, the curtains drawn to let the evening sunset light flood into the room. 

“Are you wooing me, Mr. Fitz?”

“I am, Mr. Hunter,” Fitz replied. 

“Well, by all means, don’t let me stop you.”

Fitz pulled him onto the bed, letting them tumble together into the mattress like a couple of teenagers. They kissed for as long as they liked, no teenager around to boo them, Fitz’s tongue licking languid paths along his, hands wandering easily. At some point, they lost their shirts one by one. They were in no rush. They had no goal in mind, particularly, a vague destination, but over the years, they had stopped chasing orgasms quite for fervently. Sex was just about being together, the experience of feeling the other against them, the pleasure of it all. But god, Hunter really wanted to make Fitz come, though.

He rolled Fitz onto his back and kissed down his chest, a slow trek as Fitz stroked a hand through his hair. 

“Mmm, I like where this is going,” Fitz said. 

“Yeah?”

He pressed a kiss to Fitz’s belly button as he worked on the button and zipper on his jeans. 

“Yeah. Always love you like this.”

Hunter hummed, finally getting Fitz’s pants open and pulling them down his hips. He wanted to dive in immediately once he got Fitz’s cock free, but he forced himself to be patient, peeling them all the way off and tossing them towards the hamper in the corner. He ran his hands up Fitz’s thighs, pressing his legs apart enough to settle between them and resting them on the curve of his hips, looking up the length of Fitz’s body. 

“Hey,” he said softly, squeezing Fitz’s hips gently.

“Hey,” Fitz replied.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Hunter shifted and wrapped his hand around Fitz’s cock, stroking slowly until he was fully hard in Hunter’s hand. 

“You’re just as beautiful as the day we met, you know,” Hunter said, dipping his head down and tracing the tip of his cock with his tongue.

“The day we met, I was a broken disaster who couldn’t form a sentence on his own,” Fitz said.

“Yeah,” Hunter agreed, “but you were the most beautiful man I’d ever seen.”

“That’s not even remotely true.”

Hunter teasingly sucked at just the tip still, holding him steady while he worked.

“You were,” he insisted. “I’ve always thought so. The day that we met, I remember looking at you, this skittish Scot who wore too many layers, and thinking  _ god, that boy needs a kiss.  _ And I thought it every day afterwards.”

“Hunter,” Fitz started, but Hunter squeezed his hip again, and his words stalled.

“ I  don’t marry just anyone, you know, especially not twice. You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever met, Leo. You always have been, and  there’s nothing in this world that will change that.”

“ Hunter,” Fitz tried again. 

“Let me make you feel as beautiful as I know you are.”

Hunter dropped his head down and  took Fitz's cock in his mouth, letting the familiar weight of it rest against his tongue. He made a noise of contentment, and eased his length in, sucking and licking as he went.

“ _ Hunter _ ,” Fitz whined, voice edging into pure relief and pleasure. He made sure to go  slow as he rose up along his length and then sucked him back down, working his tongue around him , delighted when he passed his tongue over the tip and getting that salty taste of Fitz's pre - cum smeared along his taste buds.

There were fewer things that  Hunter loved more than sucking Fitz off, especially the noises he made when he was being pleasured , the way his voice broke, the way he keened. He dragged fingertips over  Fitz’s balls,  fondling them slowly. 

“ _ Fuck _ _ ,  _ don’t stop .”

That  Hunter could do. He  twisted his mouth around Fitz on the next stroke up, curling his tongue around him the opposite direction, humming lightly like he knew Fitz liked.  He loved the way Fitz came apart as Hunter sucked him, the little jumps in his hips, the bit-off noises, the  heavy breathing. He reached up with his free hand and caught Fitz's wrist, moving his hand to  his hair. Immediately, Fitz's fingers curled in his hair until he had a decent grip. 

He looked up at him and nodded to give him permission, shifting to put his hands on the mattress on either side of Fitz's hips, grounding and supporting himself. Then, Fitz started guiding him up and down his cock at the pace he wanted,  using his hair as a handle. 

“Yeah, what a good boy,” Fitz hissed out, pushing Hunter down far enough that  he had to let out a quick breath to avoid his gag reflex. Fitz pulled him off to just the tip , other hand coming up to touch the seam where his cock pressed into Hunter’s lip. “Never had someone as good as you, Lance. You’re perfect for me. You know exactly what I want, and how I want it. I never have to tell you. That’s how attentive you are.”

Hunter  preened at the praise, licking at the tip of his cock, tonguing the slit specifically to get that salty pre-cum on his tongue again.

“Look at you, enjoying yourself,” Fitz grunted out. “Always so happy to have a cock to suck on.”

Hunter would’ve corrected that it was only  _ his _ cock that he was so happy to suck, if he hadn’t been busy with his mouth full. 

“Yeah, that’s so good, baby,” Fitz cooed. “I want to come in your mouth. Is that okay?”

Hunter moaned to show his support. 

“Good. God, Hunter, your mouth is so perfect. I love you so much, I love when you make me feel so good.”

He looked up at Fitz and swallowed down more of Fitz’s cock before Fitz was expecting it. 

“Holy shit,” Fitz groaned, and his hips jerked up, pushing his cock deeper into Hunter’s mouth. “I’m  gonna come, baby.”

That was the last intelligible words Fitz got out before Hunter curled his tongue around his tip just as he came. He always looked so  beautiful, Hunter was sure he never saw a more perfect, divine sight than him in the middle of an orgasm. 

When Fitz settled, he released Hunter’s hair, leaning back against the mattress. He let Fitz’s cock go from his mouth, and kissed between Fitz’s hips.

“What do you want?” Fitz asked, sleepy voice.

“For you to fuck me,” Hunter said, “slow and sweet, wrapped around each other in our bed. And then, after I’ve come, I want you to fuck me hard, and fast, make me come for you all over again, leave me aching.”

“Sounds good,” Fitz murmured, pulling him up for a kiss. “Sounds perfect. I love you.”

Hunter shifted and Fitz groaned.

“Your jeans,” Fitz managed. “Off. Get them off.”

Deciding that Hunter wasn’t moving quickly enough, Fitz sat up and worked at stripping Hunter until he was naked in Fitz’s lap.

“Perfect,” Fitz said, pulling them back onto the mattress. 

They weren’t in any hurry, taking their time to kiss themselves breathless, slowly rutting against each other until Fitz was achingly hard against Hunter’s hip again. Fitz laid Hunter out on his stomach and kissed down the curve of his spine, fingering him open with the practiced precision and easy movements of a man who knew every part of Hunter so intimately. It used to be that Fitz’s fingers felt like they were a part of Hunter, they fucked so often, but it was less like Fitz’s fingers were a part of him, and more like they were old friends, old lovers who dropped by to say hello every so often, their busy adult schedules almost never meeting, but god, it felt so good to see them again when they lined up.

Laying chest to chest, Hunter tucked into the crook of Fitz’s neck, he pushed inside Hunter slowly, taking his time, easing in and then withdrawing again. Over and over. It was deliciously slow, something they never got to do. They never laid out in their bed on top of the covers with the windows open, making love in the sunshine. 

“Oh, fuck,” one of them moaned, voice breathy. Hunter couldn’t tell you who, too wrapped up in how it felt to be with him like this again. “That feels so good.”

“So good,” the other echoed. 

Hunter couldn’t tell you how long they laid there together, breathing in the other’s exhaled moans, practically one being, practically never ending, a loop that never stopped, never started, kissing and fucking, all sensations and nerve-endings alight. When they came, Fitz was buried deep inside Hunter, and their moans were almost one sound, different names, different accents, stuttering breaths, but one just the same. 

Hunter rested on Fitz’s chest afterwards, Fitz stroking the little hairs at the nape of his neck. 

“I also want to fuck you in the kitchen later,” he said between little breaths. “And on the dock when the moon comes up.”

“It’s not our anniversary,” Fitz said playfully. 

After their second wedding, they’d come back to their home to pack for their honeymoon, and they’d sat on the dock for a little bit in the dark, just the light from the full moon reflecting on the lake’s surface.

“I’m glad we came home,” Hunter had said, and he meant for more than just to pack, and Fitz knew it. “I love your mum. I love our house. I love our life. I love you. I love everything we have. And I know we couldn’t have that in Iowa.”

“I wish Ida were here to see it, anyway,” Fitz had added for him. They’d kissed, and then made out, and then ended up fucking on the dock on Hunter’s jacket. It became a tradition, even after the girls came into their lives. 

“I don’t think we have to wait for our anniversary for me to pleasure you under the moonlight, darling.”

* * *

Hunter got the call from their social worker while at work, ringing up a customer. 

“Hey Janet, can you hang on one second? I just need to finish with this customer,” he said, answering the phone.

“Sure,” she said  chipperly . Everything Janet did was chipper. 

He set his phone down and went back to Mrs. Vasquez’s order, adding it up out loud the way he’d always done. He wasn’t great with computers, honestly, never had any use for them, and he didn’t want to have to call Fitz every time he fucked something us, so he used his brain for simple addition. 

Once he was done, he sent Mrs. Vasquez on her way and picked up the phone.

“Hey, sorry about that. I’m here.”

“Good! Good! I have some great news!”

Janet always had Great News. She was a walking exclamation point. 

“What’s that?”

“Gertrude’s parents have signed off on waiving their parental rights. We can set a court date for you and Leo to officially adopt Gertrude.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes!”

“Holy shit! Janet, that’s not great news, that’s bloody spectacular news!”

She laughed on the other end.

“Can we do a name change for her at the same time?”

“A name change?”

“Yeah, she’s taken the name Alice, instead of Gertrude.”

“Oh, how nice, I like that. Will she be taking your last name as well, then?”

“Yeah, same as Ainsley.”

“The court will be able to sort that all out. I can fax you all the paperwork that you’ll need to bring, including the name change form.”

“Please, do.”

“I’m so happy for you, Lance.”

“Thank you.”

He couldn’t focus for the rest of the day, but luckily, most of his work was already done, and the afternoon manager would be coming in soon to take care of the shop. She was the shop’s florist, as well, and did most of her arrangements up to closing time. Mostly, he stood by his fax machine (Janet was the reason he owned a fax machine still, even though it was the most outdated machine in the greenhouse), and waited. 

“Hey Birdie?” he said, taking the papers and tucking them in a large envelope. “I just got some monumental news about my daughter, and want to get home to surprise the family. Would you mind holding down the fort early?”

“Sure, babe,” Birdie said, “congratulations.”

He looked at her for a moment.

“How’d you know?”

“We all know you’ve been waiting to adopt  Gert since you brought her home. It’s about time.”

“It’s Alice now, by the way, not  Gert .”

“Oh, well, you’ve been waiting to adopt Alice, then, and it’s about time.”

He laughed.

“Thanks Bird. See you tomorrow?”

“Always, sunshine.”

He swung by the store and picked up ingredients for Alice’s favorite dinner, and a bottle of sparkling cider. He also impulsively bought a pack of streamers and a bag of her favorite sweets.

The house was empty when he got home, Fitz at work while Alice and Ainsley were hanging out with Birdie’s wife, Taylor. Cal lifted her head from Cap’s chest where she’d been sleeping and thumped her tail at him. Cap, the heaviest sleeping dog Hunter had ever met, did not move even as Cal got up and came to greet him.

“Hey old girl,” he cooed at her, leaning down and scratching behind her ear right where she liked it the most. “What a sweet girl, huh. Here, I brought you both a treat, too.”

Somehow, even though he was just dead asleep, Cap got up for that, coming over to stand at Cal’s side. Hunter passed them both a treat from the bag and started decorating. Fitz would grab the girls on his way home, as usual, and Hunter would have their dinner ready when they got home this time. He could stay still, even after everything was ready, and their food was in the oven, so he made a cake, and he cleaned the kitchen, and the living room. 

He wanted to tell someone, but the first person he wanted to tell, to actually  _ tell _ instead of them knowing like Birdie, was Alice. So, he couldn’t call Bobbi, even though he wanted to so desperately. Instead, he double checked everything, and when nothing else helped, he took out an old notebook and sketched out designs for the greenhouse layout, and the garden out back the way he used to at the farm.

Fitz arrived with the girls right on time, and Hunter forced himself to stay put in the kitchen, designing instead of racing out to them. He closed the notebook as the front door opened, and tucked the envelope underneath the notebook. 

“What is this?” Fitz asked as Ainsley wiggled past him into the entry way. She came running for him and he lifted her up onto his hip for a hug.

“Hey nugget,” he said, kissing her cheek with an exaggerated kiss. “How was your day at Aunt Taylor’s?”

“Good! We had chicken nuggets for lunch!”

“Oh, that’s cool.”

“And Alice showed me this cool fish called the  blobfish ! It’s so weird!”

Fitz and Alice wandered around the house, touching the streamers, trying to see if they led anywhere before circling back to the kitchen.

“I’m confused,” Alice said. “What’s with the party decorations?”

“I would like a family meeting,” Hunter said. 

“Okay?” Fitz said. Alice was sniffing the air, and followed her nose to the oven where Hunter had shepherd’s pie baking. 

“Dad, what is this?” she asked. 

“I have some good news,” Hunter said, taking the envelope out from underneath the notebook and pushed it towards her. She picked it up, and carefully took out the papers. She read over the form heading, and set the papers down slowly.

“Is this real?”

“Yeah, baby girl, it’s real.”

“Dad.”

“What?” Fitz asked, but Alice was already circling the counter and threw her arms around Hunter. 

“Dad,” she whimpered into his collarbone. 

“If you want, of course,” he said.

“Yes. Of course, I want. Of course. This is all I’ve ever wanted.”

She was crying into his chest, and he stroked over her back, holding her tight. Fitz found the papers and let out a sigh. 

“Finally,” he said. 

“What!” Ainsley protested. Alice stepped back and wiped away her tears.

“I’m going to be your sister for real. Dad and Pop are adopting me.”

Ainsley squealed and jumped into Alice’s arms. They clung to each other, sisters even without the legal title. Fitz pulled Hunter into his arms, kissing his cheek.

“When did you find out?”

“About two this afternoon. Janet called and sent me the paperwork.”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“I wanted to surprise you all.”

“I am surprised,” Fitz said, and he dragged Hunter in for a real kiss. “And so, so happy.”

* * *

They had a raucous night together, drinking the sparkling cider as celebration and playing board games past the girls’ bedtime. They even got a video call in with the team, carefully hooking the girls into the Framework so they could share the news with everyone. The team congratulated them, and Alice hugged everyone tight. It wasn’t the same as everyone being there with them, they all knew, but it was the next best thing. 

“We’ll call Nan tomorrow,” Fitz promised, putting Ainsley to bed. “It’s a little late for her right now.”

“Okay! She’s  gonna be so excited!”

“Yeah, nugget, she is,” Fitz agreed. 

“Good. I’m excited,” Ainsley said, settling into her pillows and pulling her teddy bear close. “Goodnight! I can’t wait for tomorrow!”

“Me neither.”

Hunter nudged Alice towards her own room.

“Go get some sleep, dumpling,” he said.

“Can I call Dina first?” she asked. “Tell her the news?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

She kissed his cheek, grinning.

“Thanks, Daddy,” and she headed for her room, stopping to drop a kiss on Fitz’s cheek as well. Her bedroom door shut behind her. 

“That is the only thing she’s ever called me Daddy,” Hunter commented. 

“Won’t be the last,” Fitz said, coming to his side and falling into the couch beside him. “The day she calls me Papa or anything like it, I’m going to bawl my eyes out.”

Hunter tucked Fitz under his arm and kissed the top of his head, content. Their little family was complete, he realized. He had his wonderful husband, a successful business, loving friends, two loyal dogs, and the two most beautiful daughters that anyone could ever have. When he went to sleep that night, contentment and happiness warm in his chest, it was to the quiet sound of wind in the trees, and Fitz’s sleepy breaths, and the whir of the fan overhead. 

**Author's Note:**

> Obviously, this is the sequel/epilogue to On The Bridge Between Us because I couldn't leave the boys yet, I wanted one last mission with them ;)   
> Honestly, I just wanted to cry over them some more, I'm glad you could be here to join me   
> If you need anything, don't forget to come hang out and cry with me on [tumblr!](kaytikazoo.tumblr.com)
> 
> -k


End file.
